This recipe is seriously delish. It's quick, easy and so flavorful! I wish I had taken pictures of what our's looked like (something I'm going to be better about!) or even better, Jason's face while eating and enjoying. Two thumbs up from the husband!

Fettuccine with Creamy Tomato Italian Sausage Sauce Recipe

from simplyrecipes.com

2 Tbsp olive oil
3 shallots, chopped

2 large garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

1/2 pound spicy or hot Italian sausage, casings removed

1 cup whipping cream

2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice

1 Tbsp dried sage

3/4 pound fettuccine

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic and sauté until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add sausages and sauté until no longer pink, breaking up the sausages a bit, about 5 minutes. Add cream; simmer 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices. Add sage. Simmer until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

2 Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.

3 Return pasta to same pot; add sauce. Toss over medium heat until sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if mixture is dry. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Serves 6.

I did make a couple changes to make it a bit healthier. I used turkey sausage which is MUCH healthier and tastes just as good, substituted the heavy cream for fat free half and half and served it over whole wheat linguine. Seriously yummy!!

I am absolutely loving the flowers my love sent me today! We barely saw each other yesterday so we decided that today would be our valentine's day. And I'm off work so even better!

And I'm writing this from my phone. Booyah!

So a few weekends ago my parents and two of my sisters, Annie and Melody, came down for a couple of days and we had the best time! One of my favorite things that we did was have a girls day at the mall while my dad and Jason went to a men's retreat at Elmbrook Church. I went with Annie and Mel to Sephora for the first time. Ridiculous, I know. We spent almost two hours examining every part of the store and testing everything they had to offer. Annie had cat-eye eyeliner done, which looked fabulous and Mel pinpointed exactly which perfume was the best (Taylor Swift Wonderstruck, obviously). We had so much fun!

I picked up a couple things since I had some money saved from winning my fantasy football league (booyah!). 

 

I love this mascara. It makes my short, pale lashes look much longer and thicker. I'm not sure they quite look like like I have fake eyelashes on BUT with two coats, I would say I have about half the Kardashian look. And I'll take it! 

This lipgloss is perfection. I normally stay away from darker shades and stick with more neutral, sheer shades but my sisters had me trying on all kinds of colors I wouldn't normally pick out!I love how it brightens up my coloring and how long it lasts. Definitely a favorite! 

I didn't buy this eyeshadow set, Naked by Urban Decay with my sisters. I actually got it for Christmas from my mother-in-law! I am obsessed with it!! I love how I can wear the more neutral covers on an every day basis and use the more dramatic ones for date nights. It's amazing and I definitely recommend it. 

So for a hot second last week we thought that we might be moving. You see, is the time of year where our apartment complex lets us know that we've lived here for about a year and gives us the chance to renew our lease or we can leave. Let me be clear, we like where we live. Our apartment is very spacious and affordable. We're in a good part of Milwaukee and we're very close to our Church. However, we both have a commute, mine being a very doable twenty minutes while Jason's is at least forty five minutes long. So, moving to more of a middle ground to our jobs would be something we're interested in. 


There's also the fact that while our apartment is nice, it's very cookie cutter, run of the mill, dare I say boring? When we lived in Evanston we had an apartment that had lots of windows and creaky wooden floors, and I. Loved. It. I would absolutely jump at the chance to move into a place with just a little more character or history to it. However, uniqueness comes at a price and with Jason starting grad school, we don't have any room in our budget to increase our rent payment. So, we decided that since we have two weeks to decide whether we stay or go, we'll take advantage of the time and look to see if there are any apartments/condos/duplexes that would peak our interest and be in our price range. 


Well, it's been about a week of looking and it looks like we're staying! We inquired about several different places but it came down to either no dogs allowed, not the best part of town, just a little more than we wanted to pay, etc. In other words, God shut the door (at least for now! God, you know you have one more week to open it, right?!). 


So now that we're staying I've decided that we need to put a little bit of TLC into our apartment to make it more homey. I've moved at least once a year for the past 4 years (not forgetting the summer of 2008 in which I moved THREE times) and I have found I have a hard time putting my roots down. I stack things in closets, hesitate to hang things on the wall, skip organizing all because in the back of my mind I think "well, I probably won't be here long anyways." No more of that! I've decided that I'm going through my piles, I'm consolidating, I'm getting rid of the huge ugly bookcase in one of our bedrooms and I WILL decorate the empty wall in our dining room! Shoot, I'm going to get new throw pillows for our couches! Watch out world!! 


Now that it's been decided I'm on the search for inspiration! I'm all over blogs and pinterest looking for new ideas and things that I can do. Here are some of my favorites:

Source: thishumblehome.com via Allyson on Pinterest

The whole trend of hanging pictures with words, saying, etc. can be easy to over do in my opinion. But this is so cute! 

Source: cupcakesandcashmere.com via Tyler on Pinterest

Love this, minus the teal fake frame. I love the vintage feel it gives! Plus, I have a gorgeous gold mirror in our bedroom that I stole from my mom and it is one of the favorite things in our home, so it could tie in with that. 

Source: horchow.com via Interior Project on Pinterest

This is great, plus I learned from this blog post how I could make these on my own! Totally doable and not too intimidating. I think I would do six frames though since I have enough space. 

Source: younghouselove.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Love this! It would take some time to get the frames together and frame worthy pictures, but I could do it right?? 

Source: designsponge.com via Victoria on Pinterest

Can I just live here? *swoon*


What do you guys think? Any other ideas or inspiration for me?? Anyone want to come and just decorate my home? You're more than welcome to! 

Tomorrow is a big day for us. Jason will be having his last first day of school!! I am so very, very proud of my sweet husband.


Last week we received news that Jason had been accepted into Marquette's MBA program..and that he starts on Tuesday!! We are both really excited for this next step in our lives! Jason has worked so hard to get this far and I know that he is going to do very well. It's such a blessing to have him going to a great and well known school as well. God has truly blessed us!


To celebrate Jason's first day, I made him one of his favorite snacks: my homemade granola bars! I think I may have posted this on here before but it is so good that it bears repeating. I got the original recipe from here but the one I've posted below has my own personal "tweaks."

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1/2 c. flax seed, milled

3/4 c. shelled sunflower seeds

1 c. chopped nuts (I usually use peanuts)

1 c. shredded coconut

1 tsp. cinnamon 

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. brown sugar or your favorite natural sweetener

1/2 c. honey

2 tsp. molasses

4 T. butter

2 tsp. vanilla

4 T. peanut butter

1 c. dried, chopped fruit (I used dried cherries today, blueberries and cranberries are also really yummy!)

1. mix first 7 ingredients together and place on a rimmed baking sheet. toast in a 400 degree oven for 12 minutes, stirring several times during cooking.  let cool at least 15 minutes.

2. bring next 4 ingredients to a simmer, stirring continuously. stir in the vanilla and peanut butter and cool for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. put the toasted ingredients and dried fruit in a large bowl and pour the liquid ingredients over it. mix very well.

4. place wax paper in the rimmed baking sheet, then place the granola bar mixture in the pan. put another  sheet of wax paper on top of the mixture and press down. roll with a rolling pin to make it very tight, smooth, and even.

5. let set for at least 2-3 (I usually let them sit for around 4 and they are much easier to cut) hours and cut into desired bar size. makes about 20-24 bars. package in snack size bags or an airtight container. We usually put our's in snack size bags and store them in the freezer so that Jason can take them with him to work. He loooves these and I feel good about giving him a healthy and filling snack! 

Enjoy!

P.S. Sorry about the lame look of my page right now. I'm in the middle of switching things around and can't seem to figure out something I like. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!! 

Obsessed.

I am completely obsessed with this smoothie.

Some of you have maybe seen it going around on Pinterest and maybe you've tried it before and can testify! It is daaang good. I've had it the past four morning for breakfast and not only is it scrumptious and super healthy, but it also keeps me full!!

Don't be afraid of the spinach. Just try. C'mon, you know you want to! 

P.S. I reccomend using frozen pineapple and mango. Yum yum!!

P.P.S You may have noticed I've taken a break from blogging. Life has just been so busy for me lately and when it comes down to it, I found I'd rather read Hunger Games then update my blog so I let myself do that for awhile but now it's time to get back into the hang of things!  

Through the eyes of a 3 year old

This is my sweet Cambrya. I spend most of my days with her having great adventures and doing life together. A couple weeks ago we had her sleep over at our apartment and had the best time! She really loved playing with my camera so I thought I'd share a few of her "pieces" with you.

Posing to help her find me.

My oh my, there were more pictures of Jason than I think anything else. She has a bit of a crush on him. ;) As you can see, she struggled a bit with keeping her fingers out of the way but for three years old I think she's doing pretty well! 

She caught me between her fingers. 

There were also quite a few of Bailey. The last one isn't half bad, now only if Bailster didn't look like an alien...

This last one is my favorite. She had to get on her tippy toes to catch her reflection in our bathroom mirror. 

I love looking at these pictures and trying to figure out how her little mind works. Who knows, maybe someday she'll end up being a photographer! 

Today my sweet little sister turns 21! I can hardly believe she's old enough! I feel like I just turned 21, although in reality I'll be turning 27 way too soon. Anyways, back to Kristi! She recently moved to Virginia to pursue her college degree at Liberty University. I am so proud of her for taking such a big step in obedience to God. I know that while it may not have been the easiest thing to move so far away, I know that God has blessed her for going. She is having the most amazing time and has met some really great people!

As an older sister I feel like Kristi is one of my greatest accomplishments. ;) Just kidding! She is wise beyond her years, loves to learn and is passionate about things that are important to her. I'm jealous about her ability to articulate her point when discussing issues. 

She also has fabulous taste in music, makes me proud when it comes to talking about sports and she loves to have fun! I always have the best time with her laughing and talking about the most random things! :) 

One of the things that makes Kristi, Kristi is her passion for Truth. Her beliefs are firmly rooted in God's word and it's something you'll know right away when you meet her. I have seen her grow, even in the past year to love God more and seek to obey Him with her life. It makes me so proud to see her make good decision and it encourages me in my own walk with God. 

Kristi, you are a blessing to our family and lives. We are so glad that God gave you to us! We love you. We miss you...can't wait to see you at Thanksgiving!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! 

Things that we've learned the past week..

What a week!! Seriously. I don't think anything went the way we thought it would and I'm pretty sure we experienced a level of stress that was new to both of us. Short story is that last Wednesday on his way to work Jason was rear ended. I was so terrified when he called me, but he was ok. Our Focus (aka Beast) not so much, but my sweet husband is what's irreplacable. We figured things out for the rest of the week; rented a car for a couple days and worked on getting the police report. We had planned on going up to Door County to visit my family amd decided to still go. We had the best time! On the way home though, driving seperately because my brother had borrow us his car to use while we car shop, I was rear ended in our other car. Are you kidding me? What a week! We're starting to figure things out with both car situations and now that things are starting to calm down a little I think I'm ready to talk about it. And to go over...some of the things we've learned this past week:

1. When Jason's in trouble I won't neccessarily just feel it. Apparently I've been watching too many romantic movies or reading sappy books because I had come to the conclusion that if Jason was ever in trouble I would somehow just know! I have the strongest, deepest connection with him...more than anyone on this earth and so I assumed that somehow I would be able to just sense him being in apaprent danger. A sixth sense of some kind maybe. Well, it's not true. And my husband thinks I'm just a bit crazy for even thinking this.

2. If you ever get rear ended, hope and pray that the person who hit you has progressive. Yesterday the insurance agents who represent the people who hit me (did I mention they were some of the nicest Swedes and had moved to Chicago about a year ago? I got to teach them the word "dent." Sweet.) called me to discuss things and set up getting our car fixed, getting a rental, etc. They were so concerned about my health (Just a sore neck, really) and Bailey's health since she was in the car with me. It was so nice to be treated like the victims we really are! ;) They took care of everything for us including offering us a settlement for the "inconvenience of the accident." I didn't know this even existed but now I wouldn't mind being inconvienenced more often! It feels so good to have one car situation totally taken care of. Now, onto the next!

3. God's always at work even when it may not look like it. One car accident was frustrating enough, but two in less than a week? I'll be honest, I'm still figuring out what God could be doing in this situation; it isn't exactly crystal clear. I think though that just learning to trust that God is still working even in a crazy situation has been so challenging to me.

 Hosea 6:3 says "Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; His going out is as sure as the dawn; He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rain waters the earth." I have never once woken up in the morning and even thought or considered the idea that the sun wouldn't rise. Maybe that's because when I get myself out of bed and on with my day, the dawn is already breaking. How true is that with our lives? It may seem like the trial or stressful situation has just begun but truly, God's been working in our lives long before we even faced that difficulty. Just because it's new to us does not mean that God has not gone out long before us.

As I'm writing this the skies have opened up and it has begun to rain. It may not be a spring rain like the verse indicates, but rain is rain and I feel so reminded that God is going out and He IS active in my life and my circumstances!

Thankful for God's protection over my family, His provision and the knowledge that He is at work. Feeling blessed in the midst of everything..

Happy Anniversary tooooo us!! 

Today is the second anniversary of our marriage. :) 

We keep saying to each other, "can you believe it's already been two years??" but at the same time, so much has happened. We've been through good and bad, but thankfully I can say it's been by far good. 

They say that the first year is the hardest and I think that we'd agree. It wasn't overwhelmingly difficult and I think we made it as gracefully as possible. The first year for us was all about figuring out who each other was on a deeper level. What each other really thinks and believes, traditions from how they grew up and negative and positive things from their upbringings. For us, the first year was all about shaking off things that were familiar to us and maybe even what we preferred in order to pursue what was better for us. 

It's scary giving up what you've always known as normal or the way you've always thought. But the idea of creating something new with someone else is so beautiful that you're willing to fight through the fear. 

Because we were able to establish a firm and united foundation in our marriage during our first year, our second year was spent growing and building on that foundation. It's fun to look back and see how much we've grown even in just this short amount of time. I've learned so much more how to love and respect Jason. I recognize that there are so many things that are just not worth fighting over (and that's a big one in the marriage of two very stubborn people! ;) ). Jason has loved me more and deeper then ever before. And we have grown. Our marriage is truly blessed!

To celebrate my sweet husband surprised me with  a surprise overnight getaway, a brand new dress and a delicious dinner! It was perfect and he thought of everything, even down to a snack size bag of flamin' hots for me to munch on because we had a late dinner reservation. My man knows me! :) Tonight we had dinner at home together, got some ice cream and watched the video of our wedding. It still makes me cry and crack up...it was the best day!! 

I want to end with a quote my mom wrote in our anniversary card. I feel like it sums up our view on marriage and just how much of a blessing it is:

"The ultimate thing to see in the Bible about Marriage is that it exists for God's glory. Most foundationally, it is the doing of God, most ultimately, marriage is the display of God. It is designed by God to display His glory like no other event or institution does." 

~John Piper

Memories

Some of you may have noticed that I've taken a bit of a break from writing. Summer started to get busy and my blog slipped down my priority list. And then my grandpa passed away and I just didn't know how to talk about it. I thought about updating on here but how could I have a major event happen in my life and not even mention it? 

So I took some time away. But now I think that I'm ready. Or, getting ready and I think talking about things on here will help.   

My grandpa, Harvey Clark, passed away in May due to complications from Muscular Sclerosis. He dealt with MS for over thirty years and was wheelchair bound by the time I was born. Although he may have been physically handicapped, what he dealt with on a daily basis did not affect his spirit and what he knew was his purpose in life. He was a Baptist preacher for years but it was the way he lived each day that to me, sent the strongest message.

He had every reason to complain, but he didn't.
He had every reason to doubt, but he didn't.
He had every reason to be bitter and angry, but he wasn't.

He was the most joyful and genuinely thankful person I knew. He took advantage of every situation to represent the Christ that he knew so personally. Grandpa was always pulling out his Bible to do a study; always pausing to spend just a few more minutes in prayer. He shared his faith with everyone he came in contact with.

I remember when I was little grabbing a stack of my story books, my picture Bible and notebook to sit at the dining room table with Grandpa as he did devotions. As I got older, I put away the picture books and would bring studies I was really doing or share with him what I had learned at school. One time in specific he asked me about Spiritual Gifts. He told me what he knew and what he didn't understand and then he wanted to hear what I thought. I remember thinking "this is crazy! He's been a preacher for longer then I've been alive, and he wants to know what I think??" 1 Timothy 4:12 says, "Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." Grandpa made that verse come alive to me when he showed me that my thoughts and opinions mattered greatly to him.

I could go on and on about the things that I've learned from his life or since his passing, so I think I'll just write about the ones that stand out to me the most. I think the biggest lesson I learned is that we cannot judge God's decisions and plans for our lives by our own measuring stick. I can't even count how many times I've heard someone say (concerning my Grandpa or someone else), "if they just had enough faith then maybe they would be healed" OR "if you just prayed a little more or fasted a little more, then maybe he'd be healed." I completely believe in the power of prayer and the importance of having faith but I believe it's more important to trust God and His path for your life. I could have prayed for hours and hours (and believe me, I did) for my Grandpa and he could never be healed or I could have tossed up a quick prayer in passing and he may have been able to walk again. I don't get to decide what God's will for is my life or my loved one's lives. And I don't get to decide if a prayer is answered or not.

We can now say that it was not God's plan for my Grandpa's life to be physically healed. He would always be confined to a wheelchair. But to face such a deteriating and debilitating disease with such joy and purpose....you can't tell me that my Grandpa wasn't healed in his own way! I don't get to pick the ending to the story, but I can trust that it is a good one and that God has had our best interest in mind.

The other thing that stands out to me is just the love that you can have for someone. I've watched my Grandma literally lay down her life for her husband as he physically got worse and worse. I think that when you say your wedding vows and you promise you'll be with someone "for richer and poorer and in sickness and in health" it's easy because odds are you and your partner are in good health with no imposing threat. But what happens when the unexpected arises and your vows are put to the test? My example has been that you don't walk away. And your love doesn't change. I'm not saying it's easy; I can't imagine what my Grandma has been through, but I do know that it's possible.


My grandpa leaves behind a family that loves Jesus. He leaves many lives that were changed for the good because he was in them. I feel so proud to call Harvey Clark my Grandpa and hope to live my life in the same way he lived his.

Dinner at the Whittingtons.

I know that a lot of women plan meals for weeks or even months in advance. Well, I'm not one of those women but I do plan for one week at a time (you gotta start somewhere, right?). I like to divide our meals up as either big or small meals. I'm not serving more or less foods different nights, I divide them up by how much time they take to make. Maybe it would make more sense to call them long or short meals but I feel weird calling it them short meals...ANYWAYS.....I call them big or small and that's that. :) I try to do at least 2-3 bigger meals and then smaller ones on the night we have something right after work and just need something to grab and go. 


This is my plan for this week:


Monday: I don't work on Mondays so I've affectionately named them my wife days, since all  have to do are tasks that revolve around me taking care of my husband and home. Since I'm home all day I definitely do a big meal. Jason's been reminding me for about a month about "that one time I made stuffed shells" and so I'm giving in and making them again. Since these are already high in fat and calories, I served them with organic greens and spinach lightly tossed in red wine vinegar to bring something healthy to the meal. 


Tuesday: We don't have plans this Tuesday so I'll have time to do a bigger meal. I'm planning on making chicken picatta which I'm really  good at ordering in a restaurant but have never actually made! I'm really excited to try it. I'll be serving this with a salad again and some fresh fruit.


Wednesday: I cook dinner on Wednesdays for the family I nanny for and I usually bring some of it home with me for Jason and I to eat. We also have dog training right after work so it's a quick night anyways. 


Thursday: We have a young adult thing at Church that night but I'm still going to try and whip something up before we go. These Carne Asadas  look insane and I cannot wait to try this recipe out! 


Friday: I work late some Fridays so these are the nights we tend to grab fast food or put in a pizza. Not always the healthiest, but it's ok to do every once in a while! :)


How bout you, readers? What are some of the recipes you've made lately or are planning on making? 

I haven't posted a recipe in awhile and I thought it was about time!

For the record, I really really like muffins. Problem is they aren't generally very good for you. Jason and I are both fans of my baking so when I make something for us I want it to be at least somewhat nutritious. 

Enter: deliciousness. I found this recipe last week and tried it out and it was SO yummy and semi-healthy!

Health Nut Blueberry Muffins (from www.allrecipes.com)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup oat bran
• 1/4 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan, or line with paper muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, oat bran, quick-cooking oats, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently stir in the blueberries and walnuts. In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed banana, buttermilk, egg, oil and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix just until blended. Spoon into muffin cups, filling all the way to the top.
3. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly touched.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 196 | Total Fat: 5.8g | Cholesterol: 18mg

The only things that I changed was I took out the nuts, used wheat bran instead of oat (Because it's what I had on hand) and "made" my own buttermilk by putting 1 T. of lemon juice in my one cup measurer and filling the rest with skim milk. There's a good chance my changes even made it healthier and I honestly wouldn't even go back to the original recipe...it was that good! I can't wait to try these again and maybe make them with raspberries or cherries! Enjoy. 

Dear mom,


Today is your day and I want you to feel celebrated and honored! You have played one of the biggest roles in shaping my life and I can honestly say that many of the good things in my life are the fruit of what you taught me. 

One of the first things I remember you teaching me is to memorize Scripture. The first verse I think I ever memorized was "When I am afraid I will trust in Thee" and you taught it to me so that I could say it when I was afraid during the night. I still remember the passages you taught me and they come to my mind in different situations. The fruit of memorizing Scripture is still being born in my life!

 You taught us how to love each other. Even when we were busy stealing each other's clothes, tattling and hitting, you taught us to love. This love has bonded us together so that even though we are in different cities, my brother and sisters are my very dearest friends and I can't imagine my life without them. 

You taught us the importance of having fun! You showed us how there can be joy in the small things and that there's always time to stop and have a good laugh. Cleaning the dishes was always way more fun when we cranked up the music and danced while we did! There was never a dull moment growing up. :)

You've prayed for us more times then we'll ever know. You support us in all of our decisions. You are always there when we need you and you're even figuring out how to switch between two phone calls when two of us need you at the same time! We can tell you anything and we know that you will always be there for us. You are our best friend! 

You've shown us how to love a man. And not just say I love you but to run his business. And to wake up every morning and pack his lunch. And make him red meat when everyone else is having chicken. And buying him the right ketchup. And how to adore your man. So when it comes down to loving my man, I know how to do it right because I had an incredible example. 

We love you mom...Happy Mothers day!